For most of their lives, Ricky Holmes and Isaiah Cherry have considered themselves to be a team of sorts. Holmes, 12, and Cherry, 13, have been inseparable friends for seven years, typically playing sports in the yard any time they aren't attending Anderson's Glenview Middle School.

When next-door neighbor Tony Gattis fell while trying to put out the flames of a burning car, within 10 feet of his home Thursday evening, Holmes and Cherry became a dynamic duo, using high-speed teamwork to rescue the 69-year-old Gattis.

"This could have been a lot worse. I don't know if we'd be here today if it weren't for these boys," Joyce Gattis said Friday, pointing toward the scorched remnants of a 2004 Volvo that also seared a car parked nearby.

Holmes and Cherry saw the blaze and heard Gattis calling for help as they walked home from a pickup basketball game Thursday. They quickly jumped a 4-foot fence, and Holmes pulled Gattis away from the flames while Cherry dialed 911.

Neither Holmes nor Cherry had been trained for a rescue operation, but it didn't seem to be a problem. Both said they reacted before giving much thought to the possibility that the car might explode, or that they might be injured by the blaze.

"At first I thought about calling mama at work, but I knew we had to do something quick," Holmes said. "There was a lot of heat coming from the car. I knew I had to get him away from that, or he'd get burned."

Gattis, who is disabled, incurred second-degree burns on his back, and suffered smoke inhalation.

"I was worried that the car might explode," Cherry said. "It was exciting We went by instinct, and we were pretty nervous after it was over. It all happened pretty fast."

The chaos was somewhat anticlimactic for Ricky's mother, Christie Payne Whitfield, who, like husband Jody, was at work when the fire erupted at the home next door. When the Broadway Fire Department responded to the call, it followed Cherry's directions to the Whitfield house.

"A neighbor called me at work and asked if everyone was okay. When she told me she could see a firetruck and crew in our yard, I was in panic," Whitfield said. "And then I couldn't get in touch with anyone."

By the time Whitfield was able to get the details, emotions were hard to control.

"It made my heart drop when I found out he was within a few feet of a burning car. He's 12, but he's still my baby," she said of Ricky, "and it scares me to think he was in the middle of a dangerous situation."

By Friday, she could smile and rejoice.

"I'm a proud mama. I'm proud of both of them. Isaiah is like family and goes to family outings with us," she said.

"As a parent, you always hope your child will do the right thing when you're not with them," Whitfield said. "It's great to know they did the right thing, and wanted to help other people, when there wasn't time to think about it."